More West Wing Wisdom

'A nation reveals itself not only by the men in produces, but also by the men it honours.'

Not one of Josiah Bartlett's, the credit goes to John F. Kennedy

The Provocative 'Art of life'?

In Simon Schama's wonderful book 'The Power of Art' the abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko is quoted, critiquing the developing art world of his day and the lot of artists within it...

'When I was a younger man, art was a lonely thing. No galleries, no collectors... no critics. No money.

Yet it was a golden age. For we all had nothing to lose - and a vision to gain.

Today it is not quite the same. It is a time of verbage. Activity, and consumption.

Which condition is better for the world at large? I will not venture to discuss. But I do know that many of those who are driven to this life are desperately searching for those pockets of silence where we can root and grow.

We must all hope we find them.'

Not everyone connects with his art but his critique of the artistic millieu of his day would surely extend to society at large, including our own.

Like Rothko I reckon there are many people in our community yearning for opportunities, space to 'root and grow'.
As Rothko does, I can't help doubting that incessant activity and noise do not readily encourage 'pockets of silence'.
Yet I share Rothko's hope that we will encounter moments where we can 'be still and know'.

The challenge remains for us all individually and corporately for those who gather as church.

The challenge, as it was for the artistically provocative Rothko before us, is to discover how, amongst the hustle and bustle of 21st century living, to express distinct, yet viable alternative ways of living.

Love it or hate Rothko's work always produced a reaction, a response. Surely our lives must do likewise. After all, 'unless there is something about church, or Christians, or Christian faith that intrigues, provokes or entices, then all the evangelism in the world will fall on deaf ears. If churches cannot conyey a sense of ‘reality’ then all our ‘truth’ will count for nothing. Unless someone wants to hear, there’s no point in shouting louder. Churches need to become provocative, arresting places which make the searcher, the casual visitor, want to come back for more.' [Graham Tomlin, The Provocative Church]

Better late than never?

Fashionable or not, I've recently felt like I've arrived rather late for a number of 'parties':

1. Ebay - obviously I've been aware of it over the last couple of years(!) but I've only just started to 'interact'! Which isn't completely without peril, I mean any site with this much Lego is a dangerous thing for an overgrown 8 year old!

2. The work of Rufus Wainwright. I guess someone Elton John describes as the 'best songwriter in the world' is hardly a 'find', but until a friend recently introduced me to him I was none the wiser. Last week I bought his latest album 'Release the Stars', I use the word advisedly, but it's fantastic - pure class. Buy it and hear it, no, experience it for yourself!

3. Peep Show - A show with 3 series behind it is not exactly a breaking story, but a hastily purchased DVD box set is addressing our tardy appreciation. Bizarrely Peep Show is proving rather enriching for married life because while it's not unusual that Lisa and I laugh at the same stuff, it is pretty rare that we do so with the same enthusiasm! (Are we alone here?) So the fact that Lisa insists that I 'pause it' when she leaves the room is uncommonly new territory! It would appear that we love it in equal measure - rare indeed! Admittedly I think Lisa hates the fact that she like it, but a reluctantly shared passion is a shared passion nonetheless!

NB: one party I'm not looking to attend anytime soon, no matter how many 'friends' invite me.... is Super Malt - an acquired taste I have no inclination to acquire! (if you're not sure what it is I wouldn't worry!)

More cultural challenges from the sub-continent

While in Trivandrum we had the opportunity to worship at one of the local corps. As ever it was great to worship with other Christians from a totally different context and to be reassured that for all that makes us different there is so much more that unites us.

But I came away challenged by a couple of things.

Firstly was how British, and 1950s British at that(!) the meeting (service) was. Apart from the fact that most of it was translated you could've been forgiven for thinking we'd been transported back to the UK and back a few decades in the process! Where were the sitars?!

Secondly I was challenged as to how and when, as Christians and as a church, we are called to challenge the prevailing culture. This thought was prompted by the fcat that when we worshipped we did so seperately - men on one side and women on the other. On one level this seemed a perfectly indigenous way to approach things. Yet the briefest of experience of Indian culture suggests a male dominance that is not always helpful. Indeed it would seem that as with any 'dominance' it is often built upon, and maintained by, oppression and abuse.

And so I was left wondering whether or not this offered the church and the Salvation Army in particular a counter-cultural opportunity to model the freedom found in Christ. I was left wondering how this prevailing culture would ever be challenged and changed (if indeed it should be) if the church did not step up. Of course given the miniscule number of Christians in India it could easily be argued that they would offer an inadequate challenge, but from where else will the prompt for change come? Experience would seem to suggest that however unlikely, cultural change (Civil Rights movement in the US, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe) is often instigated, amongst others, by Christians.

I also recognise that it would be easy to explain it away as a cultural norm, but I'm not sure how this sits with the fact that as Christians we believe 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' (Galatians 3:28)As I say, I'm left considering how and when the Church is called to challenge the world around us? History suggests that where the church fails to assume the mantle of change-agents we can often be guilty of maintaing the status quo and perpetrating societies 'cultural' injustices (I'm thinking of segregated Corps in South Africa when apartheid was alive and abusing!)

Art?

A few weeks ago a friend got in touch to ask if I was up for 'experiencing' the latest large scale art installation to grace the giant turbine hall at the Tate Modern. Having recently heard of the five slides that have been constructed in the name of art I needed little convincing that it might be an hour well spent.

According to the artist(Carsten Höller), 'the experience of sliding is best summed up in a phrase by the French writer Roger Caillois as a ‘voluptuous panic upon an otherwise lucid mind’. The slides are impressive sculptures in their own right, and you don’t have to hurtle down them to appreciate this artwork. What interests Höller, however, is both the visual spectacle of watching people sliding and the ‘inner spectacle’ experienced by the sliders themselves, the state of simultaneous delight and anxiety that you enter as you descend.'

I don't mind admitting to a little bit of 'voluptuous panic' as I entered the giant pipe! Whether or not it's art it does wonders for the prayer-life! As fun as it was to actually slide my personal highlight was watching and listening to adults and children alike gigglying and screaming excittedly as they spiralled 'artistically' downwards.

Whether you fancy sliding or not, it's well worth a visit.